Associated Banc Corp Increases Stock Position in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Associated Banc Corp increased its holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Kadant were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kadant by 46.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,482,000 after buying an additional 306,352 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Kadant during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,495,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Kadant during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,206,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 122,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,447,000 after purchasing an additional 31,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 87.4% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,872,000 after purchasing an additional 22,020 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of KAI stock opened at $423.23 on Wednesday. Kadant Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.51 and a 1-year high of $429.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $349.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $318.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 43.32 and a beta of 1.21.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.38 million. Kadant had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Kadant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KAI shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Kadant from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Kadant in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In related news, Director Rebecca Martinez O’mara sold 300 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total transaction of $117,777.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,293 shares in the company, valued at $507,618.87. The trade was a 18.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This trade represents a 29.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,052 shares of company stock valued at $1,091,455 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kadant Profile

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning shower and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems.